TSA prohibits discharged electronic devices on board

If the battery of your mobile device fails to power up on the request of a TSA agent, you won’t be allowed to take it on board a US-bound plane, the TSA announced as part of enhanced security measures at “certain overseas airports.”

The new measure is part
the US Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) strive to
boost security amid concerns that Al-Qaeda in Yemen and the
al-Nusra Front in Syria are planning a terror attack, US
officials told Reuters. The US government warned earlier this
week of an Al-Qaeda effort to create an undetectable bomb that
could be smuggled through airport security.

Some experts believe that amid other methods, enemies might try
to disguise explosives or other dangerous object as a laptop
computer, cellphone, or a tablet.

“During the security examination, officers may also ask that
owners power up some devices, including cell phones. Powerless
devices will not be permitted on board the aircraft. The traveler
may also undergo additional screening,” TSA said in a
statement.

In a statement earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh
Johnson said that the new measures were the result of a
re-evaluation of measures “to promote aviation
security,” but offered few details on how airlines and
airports will implement them. “Aviation security includes a
number of measures, both seen and unseen, informed by an evolving
environment,” was all that was said.

The tough new security policy has already been implemented in
UK airports, where passengers are subjected to
“vigorous” body searches and required to switch on their
electronic devices while airport staff swab travellers’ shoes and
clothes to check for traces of explosives.

“Our job is to try to anticipate the next attack, not simply
react to the last one,” Johnson said on NBC’s Meet the Press on
Sunday. “We know that there remains a terrorist threat to the
United States. And aviation security is a large part of
that.”

“We felt that it was important to crank (security) up some at
the last point of departure airports. And we'll continually
evaluate the situation,” added Johnson.